Secrets We Tried to Hide
by lxttle mxschxef
Summary: After months of rehabilitation, things have started to change in Ohisama-en. Some of the kids from Aliea Academy weren't orphans anymore as their families began to show up and get them back. But that wasn't the only thing that was happening. Little by little, they start to know some unrevealed secrets from each other. (*other characters include Zel, Nero, Maquia, Heat and more)
1. Chapter 1

**Secrets We Tried to Hide**

* * *

After months of rehabilitation, things have started to change in Ohisama-en.

Some of the children weren't orphans anymore as their family began to show up and get them back. But that wasn't the only thing that was happening. Little by little, they start to know a few unrevealed secrets from each other.

* * *

A girl with a blonde hair gazed down from the second story building as she saw one of her former teammate wave at her. Morino Rumi also known as Mole, who played as Epsilon's defender back then. The sight seemed very unusual not only for everyone but especially to Fuuko.

The girl finally removed her huge red gas mask that Sega and Metron used to tease her a lot. Well, only the top part. So she left herself with the mask that still had the grey tube that was attached all the way to the back part of her uniform.

'_Her hair color's a mystery.' _Everyone used to say.

But this time, the truth was finally revealed. Surprising most of the girls.

She had long red wavy hair just like Ariel's which made some of them envious, not to mention Desarm. The thought made Fuuko smile to herself like an idiot.

Morino glanced back at her older sister who was wearing glasses. They had the same height and same eye color. She made a gesture with her open hands as if telling her to _wait-there,_ then she turned back to Fuuko, unmasking herself. Breathing in the fresh air for the first time in months, it felt intoxicating at first but she got the hang of it a few seconds later.

"I'll…" She coughed, pounding her chest just so she could continue.

"It's okay. 'Ya don't have to speak 'ya know." Fuuko shouted from the second floor balcony. "We all know that your lungs are so strong by now that normal air makes 'ya sick. Now 'ya're a total alien. How cool is 'at?"

"I'll…" Even more coughing. "Come back."

She showed a grin before choking and all thanks to her sister who ran all the way back to her just to shove the mask on her mouth again. Then as she regulated her breathing, she made a thumbs-up sign before finally leaving the place.

Fuuko let out a sigh as the silhouette of the girl disappeared together with her family.

_Must be nice for your family to come and get you._

When she was about to go back to her room, there was a noise in the very end of the hallway. A door swinging open and some luggage being brought out of the apartment room.

"Hurry up and put it downstairs." Demanded a very tiny yet scary voice.

"Why me? Why don't _you_ put it downstairs? Or why not just throw it over the fence and maybe your family is kind enough to catch this fifty kilo luggage?"

Both Genesis' former team members were bickering like an old couple in the corridor, all because of a single green luggage.

"Downstairs. Now. My family is waiting for me." The short goalkeeper commanded Komazawa, the guy who had these sharp banana decorations on his head. And surprisingly, he wasn't threatened by Nemuro's menacing glare. More like everyone on his team got used to it.

"Then why not Procyon Net that thing downstairs BIG FELLA?"

Fuuko knew where this was headed and it all went down the same road.

"How is that supposed to help me? I'm not going to catch my luggage. The only thing I'm going to catch later is your jaw, for realizing that you just made a very lame and unintelligent comeback."

And that's why you shouldn't mess with small guys. You can never win an argument with Nemuro, unless you're Yagami. He sees her as an older sister and he respects her so much that he rarely talks back to her.

"Both of you enough with that." Says Tsumujino Touji, Diamond Dust's former forward. His crimson red eyes struck both of the guys as he peeked his head through the gap of the door and made them shush.

"Well shorty over here just humiliated me." Pointing at Nemuro.

Tsumujino stepped out of his apartment room and headed to them. "He always humiliates everyone, even though it's not his intention. Right?" The brown haired lad looked at Nemuro before he got the luggage in his hands and carried it all the way down to the first floor. Nemuro nodded and followed him downstairs.

And as Banana guy went back to his room, he caught Fuuko smiling at him almost as if to tease him. "You know what you should laugh at? Laugh at that panty on your head, crab!"

Fuuko just folded her arms and gave him one of her sweet yet vengeful signature laughs. "Three thousand points for Nemuro. Negative one hundred for Komazawa." Followed by a huge smirk that totally annoyed the heck out of him. He came marching towards her and by the time they were face to face, he stopped and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yeah. Go ahead and humiliate me one more time and—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, she immediately interrupted him.

"—Komazawa, kneel for me." Fuuko rested her hand on her hip, straightening her back and raising her chin up like she was a totally different person. "Didn't 'ya hear? I said, kneel down."

"Heck I won't kneel down!"

And by the time he said that like it was on cue, a violet mist suddenly appeared on his legs, quickly wrapping them and pulling them to the ground. As his knees fell down to the floor, it made the cement crack and have visible dented marks.

Just behind him, was a girl who's very clever when it comes to sneaking behind her opponents. Well not that Komazawa's an opponent but you do get me right? Kinki Nozomi does her favorite trick again.

"Gravitation!" The girl shouted from behind in a kneeling position while her hands are pounded on the ground that made an even bigger crack.

"WHAT HEY—GAH OUCH NO!"

His knees felt wobbly and weak that even when the power was gone, it took him several seconds to gain his strength back. And while he's still on the ground, panting from the slight exhaustion, something bright flashed behind Fuuko that blinded him.

"Aaaand we got that on camera. We'll just have to upload it on youtube and see if we can get a thousand views at least."

"Even YOU MUTOU?!" Komazawa blinked in surprise, leaning on the wall for support as he slowly stood up. "How can you do this to me? BETRAYAL."

"Yeah well by _betrayal—_" Mutou made air quotes while still holding his phone. "—you mean blocking me on twitter and not liking my super hilarious vines?" He darted a look at him before he got so obsessed with his phone again.

"People are complaining about your videos Metron…" Says Kinki, brushing some dusts off her shoulders and knees. "I don't think…"

"And looks like now we know who's one of them." And Metron hissed at the girl with distaste but he still kept the same friendly face he had.

That's what's good about him. He's not the cold type of person. He's more of the easygoing sidekick, a milder version of Sega. Ten times milder than Segata, yes.

Because when it comes to Segata, well, he's a whole lot different. Crazier, much more lunatic and psychotic person you'll ever meet. No wonder Maki was so interested in that guy, well even Fuuko… but let's not get into that for now.

Metron clicked his phone and slipped it back in his pocket. "All work's done, great job guys. You may take a break." Patting Komazawa on the back and winking at Kinki for the job well done.

"WHAT?!" Shouted the banana head in great disbelief.

"Please, stop shoutin' for Pete's sake." Fuuko rolled her eyes, keeping the same slightly evil look on her face like she's having a great time embarrassing people.

"Me? Stop shouting?! STOP SHOUTING WHEN YOU JUST UPLOADED A VIDEO OF ME KNEELING DOWN TO A… SOMEONE LIKE YOU? WHAT IF MY FAMILY SEES IT?! THEY'RE HEADED HERE AND… AND…"

"Woah woah calm down man, come let's take a selfie instead." Mutou draped an arm around him and showed him a gentle smile like it would calm him down. Unfortunately it only made things worse. "DELETE THAT VIDEO OR I'LL CALL THE SWAT TEAM TO DECAPITATE YOU ALL."

"I don't think you can do that." Kinki laughed and went beside Fuuko, giving both of the guys a cheeky grin. "Besides, I do have a feeling your family likes bananas."

"Bananas… Yes! Great idea!" Said Mutou as he posed at the camera with a peace sign together with a candid shot of an arguing Komazawa. "Hashtag… bananas. Good idea." He nodded to himself as he climbed downstairs, uploading a photo of him and Komazawa being dorks and dumbasses.

He followed the guy, trying to snatch his phone away but every time he tried, he ended up tripping down the stairs.

* * *

As the days went by, relatives of the orphans or some kindhearted foster parents came by every single day, taking home their children. As the numbers of the parents who visited the Sun Garden increased, the kids also began to decrease.

And Fuuko felt worried and anxious at some point that one day she decided not to go out of her apartment room. Until Hiroto came by and checked if everything was fine. She assured him that everything was okay and made an excuse that she had a tummy ache. The boy gave her some medicine pills to drink and she gladly thanked him for it.

In fact, the following days were a lot harsher.

When two of her best friends went away.

Maki's relatives came by around noon that day. She too was actually stuttered, having no news whatsoever and she haven't even packed her things yet—which was a total disaster. So she had no choice but to scramble up her things and squeeze them up in two large baggage that wanted to explode so badly.

One thing that shocked Fuuko was her family.

Her family was rich.

They came by with a Range Rover and another Audi car in case they won't have any space. The family had their own personal driver and as soon as Fuuko saw Maki's parents, she thought she was in front of a television. Full on make up with some tattoos on her neck that were written in Chinese.

Her parents seemed to be pretty fine and really wealthy. So you could say she's a very lucky girl.

And before they parted, Sega rushed down the stairs to hug his girlfriend one last time. They stared at each other for five minutes, tears running down their faces and a lot of lovingly nuzzles and cheek kissing went on.

Fuuko stared at the ground and collected herself before she transformed her pained look into a brighter smile. She approached both of her best friends and gave them both a tight hug. She valued their friendship so much that it felt like she was leaving her little sister behind.

But there was so much going on behind those walls of friendship.

A lot of dark and unrevealed secrets that were still waiting to be known.

Yet the two are the closest ones to her—the one's that she can truly call… her siblings. Her family. And one of them was going away, for good.

"Maki will miss you Fuuko! Maki likes you so much I won't forget you!" The girl cried in a high-pitched voice, screaming near to her ear.

"Yeah 'cause if 'ya do, expect a hard kick on your ass." Replied Fuuko while hugging her.

"Oi, I'm still here. And please, how can you forget our sexy little midfielder right here?" Sega added, smirking to both of them.

"Now, now~ Shouldn't 'ya be goin' with your _girlfriend_ Sega?"

And even though she felt a pang of jealousy as she said that word, she kept it to herself, just like she used to.

"Fuuko don't!" Maki's cheeks turned completely red.

Sega laughed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Not yet but soon baby. Pretty soon, I'll come over and we'll do some lovin'." He showed one of his coolest, devilish grin that made Maki's heart pound faster.

"Oh stop it! Maki should go now, Maki will call you guys. Don't worry!"

She hugged Sega one more time and cupped his cheeks with her hands, giving him a long kiss. Pretty awkward for Fuuko being the third wheel. And when they pulled away, Maki turned to Fuuko with tears in her eyes, sobbing into her shoulder.

"You'll meet him someday Fuuko. Go find a good man! Maki loves you!"

Maki squeezed her one and only girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the cheek before running to the Range Rover with her parents.

She tried to stay for a while but she knows if she stayed a bit longer, she will cry. And she wasn't good at goodbyes. But she soon felt a heavy thing that fell on her left shoulder. It was Sega's head.

Fuuko felt her heart pound but decided to ignore it. _Ignore it._ Telling her emotions for a millionth time.

_I know but… _

And the next thing she knew was, she was gently patting Sega's head as he continued to sob silently. The horn honked twice that almost sent her jumping.

_I can't._

The sound alerted her. Reminded her that she can't let her feelings take over. Sega's taken and Maki's dating him. And Sega and her? There's no way in hell he'd claim her because their relationship is something far more different than that. A much more bizarre one.

They can't date even if they start to have feelings for each other. It's not always that simple.

"Fuck this, I'm gonna miss her. Shit." He sniffed, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a tight embrace. Fuuko frowned and tapped his back. "Now, now. Don't 'ya dare cry. Face it like a man." She scolded him for being such a crybaby.

She could feel his heartbeat, his warmth and the strength of his arms as they hug. It felt dangerously dark and tempting. She felt like giving in. Her body was in fact, giving in.

"Make me feel better."

And no matter how many times she heard him say that, she couldn't simply resist him.

Segata Ryuuichiro, the guy she had a crush on ever since they played for Epsilon. The guy who boasted about his confidence and abilities when it came to soccer.

A guy with a very dark and twisted personality. Full of danger and endless fun and insanity. Your sweetness and pain all gathered in one neat package. A flaming hot torch that will either keep you warm in the dark or let you feel how alone and deserted you are for having him by your side.

"Sure."

Fuuko replied in a soft voice, rubbing her cheek to his.

Another typical night with Sega. Another night of making out and casual sex.

But they both knew that if they ever crossed the line, it would mean the end.

No feelings, no attachments. Just friends with benefits.

* * *

Fuuko woke up to the sound of a muffled voice just outside of the apartment room. The room was kept dark that it didn't seem to help her to get up so easily. She cracked her eyes open and took a quick glance at the clock. It was ten thirty in the morning and she wasn't ready to get up yet. It was a lazy morning. So she went back to bed, wrapping herself with the messed up sheets.

Then she heard two knocks on the door.

"Sega, come on and open the door!" It said.

_Wait, Sega?_

Fuuko sat upright, scratching her eyes and scanning the entire room. No sign of Sega around not even his boxers. Fuuko cursed silently, standing up to her feet. _Clothes, clothes. Where did I put it… Yes. _Quickly grabbing her underwear and bra, fastening the locks as fast as she could but the front door swung open. Fuuko stood there, frozen and still.

_ Shit._

She totally forgot Sega invited her to his room, she crashed into his bedroom and this happened. Well, last night. And the room was a mess, just by looking at it. Hangers and bra straps were scattered on the carpeted floor, the cabinet doors were open like someone was in a hurry, drawers half open and a pillow was sitting in the corner of the room.

"Hey Sega are you here?" Asked the voice of a young man, simple and tender.

As the footsteps got closer, Fuuko's eyes darted to the bed then to the cabinet. Unfortunately, her spandex is nowhere to be seen, not even Sega's. No large shirt that she can simply wear, not even some polo shirt. When she was about to give up, she got a head towel hanging on the edge of the bed and wrapped it around her hips.

Running behind the door as she held her breath. The guy slowly opened the door and observed the place. She heard him sigh in disappointment and just when he retreated, he went back inside the room and placed an envelope on top of the bed. And when he turned around, surprised as he was, he found a girl just behind the door—half naked.

Fuuko's eyes locked on those teal blue eyes with horror and embarrassment. In the meantime, the guy's jaw dropped big enough for a water bottle to enter. Heat was completely frozen by the sight he saw and averted his gaze, turning his back to the girl while his face turned to red.

"S-Sega? W-Where are you Sega?" Shutting his eyes as his shaky hands tried to feel the envelope on the bed. "I didn't see anything alright." He admitted nervously and when he finally felt the envelope in his hands, he picked it up and covered his eyes with it. Heat sat on the edge of the bed, careful with his actions.

Fuuko's cheeks were hot as magma, burning with heat and her head was feeling extreme dizziness. "Ara… Fancy seein' 'ya 'ere Ishi-kun. If 'ya can hand me my clothes underneath the bed…"

_And it just appeared. Great timing._

He snickered, keeping the envelope in front of his eyes, blocking enough of his vision. Heat crouched down and grabbed Fuuko's clothes and with one hand, crumpled the spandex suit in a ball and threw it to her like he was shooting some hoops. "Pft, fancy seeing _you_ here Kuri."

There's nothing more humiliating than being seen by the same guy who saw her fail miserably for three times. And today being the fourth.

Fuuko swiftly wore the tight fitting suit and zipped the back part of the suit all the way up to her nape. "'Ya may look now." She said as she ruffled her own hair, putting all of them to one side.

"Next time, give me a warning will you?" His small grin changed to a smirk, placing the envelope back on the bed. "I'm still young and innocent." Followed by laughter.

Fuuko laughed along as she approached him. "Oh right. I forgot 'ya were just a six year old kid dressed as a teenager. Silly me~" Shrugging, rolling her eyes while an evil smile was forming on her face.

"Enough with that and where's Sega anyway? Got this envelope for him and don't know who its from." He stood up with a cool expression on his face, slipping one of his hands in his pockets.

"Why are 'ya askin' me? I'm not his…"

_Girlfriend._

_CLOSE CALL._

"_If you're not his girlfriend then why are you sleeping with him?" _

_BULLSEYE._

Fuuko paused for a moment and Heat knew what she was planning to say.

"Not his girlfriend." The lad shot him an interested look that made her uncomfortable. But instead of teasing her, he decided not to and shook his head. "I've seen you four times doing this and you still think I don't know a thing about your relationship with him?" "Innocent, slightly. Curious thinker, yes." He added. "And this six year old child knows what you guys have been up to behind your very own best friend."

Now that just made Fuuko frown with dismay. _Great, now what? I'm sure he told Nepper about this already._ Yet instead of smacking the guy in the face, she stepped back and folded her arms, slightly chinned up and raised her eyebrow.

"Then why haven't 'ya told everyone 'bout this?" Heat felt the sharpness on her tone but still remained calm and composed despite the fact that his ass will get kicked in a matter of seconds.

"I can if I want to."

_Now this guy's looking for a fight. Is he trying to threaten me?_

"Oh Ishi-kun, 'ya better not."

"I'd like to try new things like hmm… what do you call that again? Oh blackmailing. Heard that from Burn so many times and I was wondering what it was." Flashing the girl a smile that can be translated as _just-so-you-wait-til-I-kill-you._ "Now, tell me where Sega is before I change my mind Kuri."

"I told 'ya I don't know. He probably went out. Why don't 'ya ask the others?"

"Already did. No one knows where he went. Probably sneaked out and ditched us all." Heat side glanced at the messy bed, imagining Sega still lying down, sleeping on the other side of the bed. "Wouldn't be surprised if he did. I'm sure you've seen his face yesterday before Maki went away right? Twenty twelve apocalypse." Heat stared back at Fuuko.

"The only twenty twelve apocalypse happenin' right now is him leavin' me." She didn't mean to raise her voice at him but Heat was taken aback by the heated response she made. Like there was some bitterness that came with it. There was a big lump of jealousy stuck in her throat.

"Excuse me?" The guy narrowed his eyes, trying to remember what she said.

"Wha'ever." Fuuko went out of the room and headed out of the apartment. He followed with a concerned and fascinated expression.

"What did you say?" Asking the girl as they both exited Sega's apartment room.

"I said get lost. You're lookin' for Sega? Go look for him. I don't know where he is. Do I look like a Google Maps app to 'ya? Sorry to disappoint but I'm just Kuri Fuuko."

She headed to her apartment, just beside Sega's and slammed the door.

"Kuri Fuuko, the girl I'm about to blackmail." He said on the other side of the door.

The girl stood by the door, too stunned to speak. Heat was already making his first move and it was way too early. The thought never came to her that it could be now. And it made her baffled that she had trouble moving her hands.

"So why don't you open up the door and let me set the ground rules." He provokingly threatened. "Before it spreads like wildfire."

And the one thing that Fuuko hated the most was how intimidating his mild voice was. Though it felt like the boy was just mouthing out some nonsense, the threat was giving her so much difficulty. It felt surreal.

The door slightly opened, thin enough for Fuuko to see half of his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Secrets We Tried to Hide **

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Once you say yes, there's no turning back.

A deal's a deal.

* * *

"I just need two things from you."

"One is enough. And what kind of blackmailin' is 'at?"

"That's the point. Blackmailing's unfair to begin with, am I right? Anyway, let's begin with the first one. Tell me—"

"Wait hold on. How am I supposed to know if after I do those two requests—which isn't somethin' illegal, of course—then you'll walk 'way like nothin' happened?" Fuuko glared at him.

Heat suppressed a laugh, covering his mouth. "Illegal or not, it doesn't matter. Besides, where's the fun in that Kuri?" For a moment, she swore she heard his voice change. Like a growling beast ready to eat his supper, eager and excited. And as soon as she stared at him, dumbfounded by the look on his face, Heat's facial expression softened. "No I don't want you to kill yourself. That's not… my kind of thing." He managed to show her a small grin which didn't really help.

_Then what is your thing?_

"Tell me about your family."

_ What? What does this have to do with you?_

"What kind of icebreaker is this? Ishi-kun, if 'ya really wanna get to know me then go Google my name. I don't have time for this."

Heat sighed dejectedly, his head falling down on the edge of the couch. After a few moments of silence, he rubbed his eyes and stood up, stretching his arms. He approached Fuuko who was seated on the other couch. Then he stood behind her and gently placed both his hands on her shoulders. Resting them there for a second and began to massage it. The way his hands moved sent static to her spine. She felt dangerously alarmed by his gentleness that she didn't like it.

"We can play soccer if you want. See if I win or not. But since you were from Epsilon, the… second rank team of Aliea Academy…" He said the latter with so much uncertainty mixed with great sarcasm.

"—_First_ rank team." Correcting him.

He shrugged like it was nothing. "And I'm from Prominence, one of the master rank teams and later on played for Chaos. You do know that my level is far more higher than yours?" Continuing the free massage.

What surprised her was when he whispered right at her ear. "I don't think your Astro Break is strong enough to beat my Beast Fang." With a pat on her shoulder, he stopped and sat on the armrest of the couch she was sitting. "Some of us are curious. Hitomiko-kantoku told us you got a call from your family. So when are they coming?"

Fuuko found herself staring at Heat's scar, a scar that now showed a meaner side of him. She couldn't believe that a calm and composed guy like him was in Prominence. Moreover, the fact that he is the one who was blackmailing her. Not the other way around.

She knew it was better to tell the truth.

"My case is different. It was my… older brother who called." Her lips went numb after saying the word 'brother'. It felt different and irrational. She never knew she had one until Hitomiko knocked on her door and gave her the phone. Telling, someone important wanted to talk to her urgently. At first she was hoping it would be Sega but it wasn't. His older brother, that actually existed.

Heat's eyes widened as he listened intently.

"Kuri Takegawa. I don't know much 'bout him or what he's doin' right now. He called askin' me for some money. He said he needed to bail himself out." And just like that, the words flowed out of her mouth. It wasn't anything happy… it wasn't right either. Especially at a time like this when everyone's supposed to be celebrating.

"So… he's a prisoner?" Heat raised an eyebrow.

"I'd rather not talk 'bout it anymore Heat. 'Cause when I asked him 'bout our parents he said he left 'em. He left home and ran away, tellin' me to do the same." Raising her voice at him, her face hardening at every word. "He cursed at 'em for… not supportin' his interests and now… he's there. Someone needs to bail him out and I just…"

Even for her, it was too much.

Heat saw the troubled look in her eyes, how cloudy it was. He frowned a little that made his scar twitch. "My relatives sent me a letter." He began to story tell. "Was it grandpa or my second uncle… hmm?" Folding his arms while deep in thought. But he immediately spoke afterwards. "I think they're not the high class types but just the normal ones. And they told me my parents were having some kind of a trouble so they couldn't get me." He let out another sigh. "Don't know if it's financial problem like yours but I'm starting to think they're divorced or what. Hard to tell when you don't even know anything about them."

Fuuko was left astonished by the sudden interruption of the boy.

"Anyway…" He cleared his throat. "My uncle said I could come by whenever I want but I don't think I want to. I'd rather be here." Then he nodded to himself, gazing at the wall clock.

"What?" She turned to look at him, utterly shocked. "Heat—I mean Ishi-kun, 'ya do know what you're sayin' right? Those are your parents how can 'ya just… toss 'em away like that? This ain't poker or any card games we're talkin' 'bout 'ere young man. We're talkin' 'bout our _real_ families 'ere." She started scolding the guy.

"Pff… our families that abandoned us, you're right. But my real family's in here." His tone was serious. "But my second request is more important than this."

The boy shifted and pushed her shoulders down to the couch, pinning her wrist next to her thigh and his other hand gripped her neck. Fuuko struggled and tried kicking him out of her way but she missed and kicked the center table instead. Heat glanced back at the mess and got caught off guard by Fuuko's hard slap. Before she could stand up, Heat kicked her heel that sent her falling down on her seat once more.

This time, he placed his arm on her neck, pressing it down on the armrest of the chair. Fuuko held him by his wrists, pushing him away from her. But he kept his balance and placed himself on top, steady and surely.

"Listen to me carefully. I don't need what Sega wants." He shouted, limiting her movements.

"Huh?" Kneeing the guy on his stomach.

"—OUCH! Kuri I'M NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING MAD." Despite the pain, his hands were still in place, not letting her escape.

"This _is_ mad. I'm not some kind of a goddamn toy that 'ya can just—"

"—Get me the meteorite."

She stopped struggling, surprised by what she heard. "What?"

"You heard me. That's my last request."

Pushing him as hard as she could. "Are 'ya out of your mind?! Atsuishi what the fuck are 'ya sayin'?" She stood up, angrily looking back at him.

Heat stumbled backwards, wiping the hair that was blocking his sight. He slipped his hand inside his pocket and got out his phone. Dialing some numbers before placing it near his ear. "Hey Gran, it's Heat. I'd like to ask you something. Do you have Maquia's phone number? If you do please send it to me, Desarm told me he needs it asap. Thanks." With a blink of an eye, he ended the call and hid the phone back.

Carefully standing up to his feet and dusting his shoulders, he waited for Fuuko's priceless reaction.

"No, DON'T!" Suddenly her hands were on his collar like she wanted to bring him up. "Don't 'ya fuckin' dare Atsuishi." Hissing at the guy in such close distance.

"Then give me what I want Kuri."

"NO SUCH THING—" Fuuko bit her lip and tried to see if anyone was listening, even if she perfectly knew that there was no one else besides him or her. Lowering her voice, she proceeded. "No such thing exists anymore Atsuishi. It's gone and it's nowhere to be found. Or are 'ya tryin' to fool 'round?" Keeping her hands gripping tightly around his collar.

**Beep. Beep.**

Halting at the sound of his phone. They both stared at his glowing pocket. He instantly pulled down her headband all the way down to her nose. Fuuko cursed loudly, releasing her grip. As soon as she took her headband out, looking hopelessly for the blonde guy, he wasn't there anymore.

She searched for him everywhere, behind the couch, near the blinds, inside the fridge, under the center table—then Heat grabbed her hair and pulled it. Her head hit the edge of the table hard enough to make her brain go wild.

"Heat!" She shouted, pounding her fist on the table.

"Um, yeah hello. Is this Maquia's phone number? It's Atsuishi-kun, Heat… from—oh yeah that's me." A pillow passed through above where his head had been. Good thing those soccer practices have been paying off. His senses were at the top unlike Fuuko's. After docking, he crawled behind the couch. "Kuri's really worried about you. She told me she wanted to talk to you so badly so…"

She almost grabbed him by the ends of his hair but Heat was just simply fast. Too fast for her, actually. "Maki don't listen to him!" Chasing after him.

"As you can tell she's pretty busy cleaning her apartment. But she told me to tell you that…" Fuuko grabbed anything she could, from remotes to wall decorations and threw it directly at him. Unfortunately, Heat dodged every little thing and left her very annoyed.

"MAQUIA DON'T TALK TO HIM! HE'S DRUNK." She tried her best to convince her friend on the other line.

"—She's making out with…"

And just like that, the door creaked open and Yagami found herself in the middle of a fight.

* * *

_ Shit._

They both found themselves in so much trouble. Especially when you're faced with the ultimate threat. It's far worse than Gran's evil personality, it's beyond than that. Nothing's more frightening and awful than being interrogated by Yagami Reina. A member of The Genesis, the most powerful team in Aliea Academy.

She stood in front of the two, who were sitting on the couch, silently praying for their salvation to come. But they clearly knew that help wasn't arriving. Never arriving.

Her cold blue eyes pierced at Heat's then back at Fuuko's. She was scarier than Desarm, she thought. Her existence showed it. Maybe because she was part of the strongest team in Aliea or she was so close to Hiroto that they both looked like the King and Queen of the universe. But that wasn't it.

Fuuko's heart thumped louder than it should be but she tried to remain calm. Heat scratched his cheek, feeling his scar as he avoided looking at the menacing girl.

"So? Is no one really going to tell me what happened here?" A picture frame of Team Epsilon, hanging on the wall fell down on the floor. Yet the three didn't mind and Yagami's expression became colder.

No one spoke a word.

It took them another minute of intense awkwardness.

"No one?" She repeated with such a harder tone.

Fuuko felt the sudden urge to run. It suddenly felt like she was being exiled again. Same as back then, when team Epsilon lost to Raimon and ice prince Gazelle showed up and sent a ball hurling towards them.

After Gemini Storm was sent into exile, they never had any contact with them. Not a single one of them, not even Reize, their captain. And as Desarm made them disappear in a blink of an eye, at first, she felt far more superior to them. Instead of pitying the same guys she used to train with, she wanted to destroy them.

She wanted to show the world how powerful they were. The difference in their skills and strength. Epsilon desired for dominance and superiority.

But when they were defeated by a group of _weaklings_ as they called them, they began to understand the definition of failing. Slowly, they realized that they were no different from the first team that tried to reign victorious against Raimon.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she forgot that the problem wasn't over. Until she started to notice that Heat was talking to Yagami. Maybe he began to have a conversation with her when she got sucked into another dimension called reminiscing.

"—started all of it." Fuuko immediately got the message in his eyes. Help was written all over his face and a part of it also said _now-it's-your-turn-to-suffer_.

_ What am I supposed to say?_

She let out a deep sigh. "I wanted somethin' from Heat. Can we please not get into the details?"

"That's why you were chasing him?" Yagami folded her arms. "What is it that you want from him?"

"We'd rather not…" Heat chimed in, hoping for the conversation to end.

"Is it his phone?" Yagami asked.

"No! I just actually wanted to…" Fuuko tried to think of something else, desperate to blurt out a smart answer.

The boy snickered and made a face. Yagami took note of it and moved nearer to them, curiously wanting to know the answers.

"Yeah she wants my phone. Wants to watch some po—"

"Excuse me? I'm sorry but you're getting the wrong idea 'ere. Ulvida, are 'ya seriously tryin' to buy this?"

"Just admit that you need someone else's phone to watch those perverted videos online. Believe me, Ulvida—her phone's not working so she asked me to…"

"I do have a phone. And how dare 'ya make assumptions of me that aren't even—"

That's when Yagami forced both of them to stand up as she pulled their front shirts. Her grip was as strong as a man's. When she released her hold, their shirts got crinkled so much. She kept her cool, watching the two babies fight the entire time that she felt like shouting at them. She told them to stop.

"I can see right through you guys. And I don't know what's happening around here lately but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to know. It's also my responsibility that everyone is safe even if they're not doing anything." Yagami spoke. "This is different from being 'nosy'. Judging by the way that you acted, I can say that something fishy's going on. Do I have to state some proofs?"

She made a 360 degree scan of the entire room.

"And since none of you are offering to tell me, let's settle this the old-fashioned way… through soccer."


	3. Chapter 3

**Secrets We Tried to Hide **

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Will Ulvida know?

* * *

_ It's coming._

She braced herself for the impact.

Heat ran forward and kicked the ball in midair. As it got kicked, he readied himself in a stance, deeply concentrated at the ball a few feet away from him. Perfectly timing his first kick, then the second. Every time he kicked the ball, it gained enough force and energy that the ball started to glow brightly. Then when his third kick hit the ball, the yellowish light turned into a massive steaming fireball, blazing with intense heat.

"Rapid Fire!"

He shouted along with the ball that was being projected to Fuuko in a speed of light.

'_Never run away from the ball. Go run __**after**__ the ball.'_ Desarm used to tell them.

Instead of waiting for the collision, she moved towards him. She was well aware that in terms of physical ability, stamina and power, Heat had the upper hand. The difference between both of them was pretty obvious. He had been training with Nepper these past few weeks and as for her, she had been stuck in her room. Ever since the Aliea Academy incident, she never trained with anyone.

She knew she was going to lose in a matter of seconds. And as the ball flew nearer, she remembered her last match with Raimon and how it greatly affected her. Seeing Desarm's first ever smile and the true meaning of soccer.

Right… Endou Mamoru.

Raimon's unwavering sheer willpower. Their unification and strong conviction for winning that sent them straight to victory. Raimon's perseverance that made each one of them stronger, better and bolder. They kept growing… evolving.

And something else flashed in her mind, a face of a person.

Endou Mamoru's grin.

'_Don't mind. Don't mind!'_

'_Don't give up!'_

'_I'm gonna stop this shoot no matter what!'_

'_I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect this goal!'_

'_I'm not gonna give up!'_

That is soccer.

Fuuko kicked her feet back and summoned all the strength she has to her right foot. She can feel her foot being wrapped by the winds and her foot began to shimmer. A bright violet glow that turned into dark purple as it reached its full power.

"Astro Break!"

Her foot caught the ball but it continued to spin violently against her foot. She clenched her fists, trying to fight the ball from going any further. She needed to send it flying back to Heat's side. The purple glow began to overlap the bright orange aura but as soon as she felt like she could pull it off, her foot slid to the right and completely gave way for the ball that went straight to the net.

Falling backwards, Fuuko clicked her tongue. She looked at the net behind her and felt the disappointment rush inside her body. Humiliation, guilt and hopelessness invaded her mind.

"One more to go." The guy wiped his sweat with the back of his palm, panting in slight exhaustion. "I think it's best if you don't try blocking one of my shoots Kuri. You'll only get blown away." Flashing her a wide smirk before he went back to his position.

_Great, I haven't even scored._

Fuuko's head slumped forward, sighing dejectedly as Yagami went to retrieve the ball. The blue haired girl kicked it back to the center of the field, nodding to them both as they near to an end.

But a voice spoke in her mind; a voice that guided and trained them to their paths.

'_Show them the destruction you can cause. Terrify them with your speed and agility. Let your feet speak for themselves. Let them feel your true selfish natures, your hunger for power that drives you mad. Take that hatred and turn it into a monster. Soon enough, you'll be known as the greatest killer. The killer that's known for their menacing red eyes with a face of a beast. Remember the color of blood. The color of intense passion and desire. _

_Shatter their souls. Crush their humanity. And above all, destroy everything that's in your path._

_Show them the true power of Epsilon.'_

Desarm's words echoed in her head. She perfectly remembered the day Desarm gave this encouraging speech to his team, just before the match against Raimon in Okinawa. He reminded them of how superior they were against those mere earthlings. How they can easily defeat them and how the match will be in their favor.

Fuuko got up to her feet and glared at Heat. He blinked at her, shrugging. The thing was, rage was building up inside her body, just like before. She liked it, yet a part of her despised the feeling. Obeying her former captain's commands and taking in Endou's words, something started to burn. A hot, passionate emotion like a fire.

Without any warning, she ran at full speed.

Heat smirked a little and headed straight to the ball, having the confidence of stealing it.

Just then, Heat realized that she was now running faster than before. It was not a good sign, he thought. He tried not to show a troubled frown and simply charged to the center. Yet suddenly, he saw Fuuko's eyes change. The color of her eyes became devilishly redder as she came closer. Heat was startled that he had no time to react.

_Is this her full power without the meteorite?! Then why does it look like she still has the necklace right now? Then this just proves that—_

"Meteor Shower!"

A number of falling hard rocks fell onto him, crashing down around him.

"—Uhk!" Heat covered his face using his arms until a huge rock fell right behind him and he felt the earth shake. His knees met the floor as soon as the ground trembled. It seemed realistic enough but when he opened his eyes, there was nothing there.

He glanced at his back where Fuuko already made a goal using her Astro Break.

_You still need two more goals to beat me and you're far from winning, Kuri. I'm gonna win this thing and I'm gonna finish this._

Yagami seemed to be pretty interested at them. Sitting on the old wooden bench, cross-legged, she quietly observed the two. And there's one thing she noticed between them, that they were both quite serious about the game.

Fuuko got the ball in her hands and when she passed by Heat, she gave him a deathly glare that almost scared the heck out of him. _Why are her eyes glowing? Is that… even normal?_ He got anxious at that moment. Looking back at Yagami, Heat wanted to make a time-out gesture but then he thought about it…

_ If I can see this… then she's probably seeing this too. Then how come she's not even stopping us? Ulvida don't you think it's a bit weird?_

Yagami seemed to have read what Heat was trying to say. Narrowing her eyes at the blonde girl who was now overflowing with confidence and power. The girl had yet transformed into another beautiful monster. But this time, it wasn't because of any stupid meteorite; it was because of the simple words her friends taught her.

She not only used them as an advice, but a form of strengthening one's mind and soul.

"So tell me Heat. What was Epsilon's rank 'gain?" She asked with a serious dead tone.

His scar twitched, his lip curling. "First rank." Having no choice but to reply with a bit of annoyance.

"I'm glad 'ya remembered."

"Oh it wasn't easy to remember. Especially when you're a part of a much more higher rank, you won't care about those who are below you."

"Who cares 'bout ranks?"

"I do. It reminds me that I'm better than you."

"'Ya just lost to a member of a first rank team, Atsuishi."

"You're getting the wrong idea here. That was just a warm up."

* * *

People might think it's pretty darn easy to convince a girl, but no. Unless you're Gouenji Shuuya then you might convince every girl in your class to go on a date with you with just one look. Everyone wished it was that easy. Fuuko did too.

But she lost to Heat. Obviously.

3-1.

Yagami asked Heat to bring back the ball inside the orphanage and after he went away, both girls sat on the bench. She waited for Fuuko to catch her breath before going straight to the questions.

"I just wanted to get back on Sega." The blonde said, quickly beginning the conversation.

Yagami was slightly taken aback by the sudden confession. "And that's what made you want to steal his phone so badly?" She generously handed a clean towel to the girl. Fuuko accepted, thanking as she wiped her sweaty neck.

"Wanted to pull a prank on him for leavin' me this early." And to the girl's surprise, the false pretense sounded convincing and believable enough, even to her very own ears. "The guy just left, not even a single goodbye or whatsoever." She made sure she's dabbing her face with the towel so Yagami wouldn't see her face flush a bit.

"So you want to take revenge? How?" She asked.

"By anonymously sendin' him a death threat of some sort." This time she was now covering her entire face with the towel.

"I don't think he'll like that." She snickered, slowly noticing the weird atmosphere. Quickly snatching the towel on her face.

Fuuko's eyes darted to the side, huffing. "Stop it. I know what you're thinkin' Ulvida… and no he has Maki. They're datin' and I'm just—"

"Just Yagami. I prefer being called by my real name. Please, continue."

"I'm just a friend." She finished. "So if you're thinkin' I have feelin's for the guy, no. Too impossible to happen, he's such a complete jerk. No one would fall for that loser. 'Sides, how are 'ya and Hiroto doin'?" Abruptly changing the subject.

They walked back talking about Hiroto until the conversation got to Endou Mamoru visiting the Sun Garden again next week. Lately the boy has been visiting them very often but somehow, the others were too busy to notice. If it hadn't been for Hiroto who came along and explained to Fuuko that it was the soccer freak's third time in the orphanage, she wouldn't know a thing. Feeling a bit left out as the two talked, she finally made an excuse to get some rest after the tiring one on one match she had.

Yagami covered up for her by telling Fuuko asked her to coach her. Fuuko didn't like the thought but at least she did something good. And it was so rare for her to do such a thing. The girl was always much more frightening and stricter than the rest, so not even a single kid in the place wanted to talk to her at first.

And Fuuko went back to her room with a small grin on her face.

While she entered the room that was _supposed_ to be messy, Fuuko couldn't help frowning at how exhausted she was. It was physically and mentally straining her and she clearly didn't like it. She despised being in this situation. After being rehabilitated for more than three months, she never wanted to go back to that awful moment again.

Surprisingly, Heat organized and cleaned everything. He put the furnitures back to its place and when he noticed her by the door, he casually waved at her.

"Welcome home."

She locked the door and went to him, pulling him by the shirt. "How dare 'ya make fun of me like that!"

"Is this what you call making fun of you?" Gesturing his hands at the entire place. "Oh don't. It's okay, you're welcome, Kuri." He swatted her hand away, making a pretty delighted smug face as he sat back down. "Come on, have a seat. I'll tell you where it is." Patting the space beside him.

Fuuko reluctantly shook her head. "Where is what?"

"The meteorite."

"If 'ya know where it is then why ask me to get it? Don't 'ya have legs of your own?" Knitting her eyebrows, staring down at the guy like she wanted to smash him to pulp.

"I wasn't done yet." He scratched his head, sighing. "It's here."

"Here?"

"Somewhere in here."

"I don't know exactly where it is but its somewhere in here according to Nepper." Heat leaned forward, placing both elbows on his knees while clasping his hands together.

_Nepper? _

"Nepper? What does he have to do with this?" Fuuko sat on the center table, in front of him, intrigued by the name. "Then why not ask him to get it? 'Cause I know nothin' 'bout this goddamn thing that you're askin' and I'm not doin' it." She took off her headband and threw it on the couch. "Heat… look… if there's anythin' else I can do I would. Just not this sort of thing! I'm not up for this, hell, I might even go to jail just like my brother!" Angrily running her hands through her hair.

_Who knows what he might do to me? I don't even know why he got imprisoned. He didn't tell. What kind of guy is that?! And saying he left our family because they were a bunch of assholes and cunts. How am I even supposed to acknowledge him as my brother? A sibling who's in prison…? Pathetic… _

But what she didn't know was Heat had been watching her carefully. Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he moved closer so he sat on the edge of the couch. Fuuko blinked curiously. She was desperately hoping that the guy was reconsidering her suggestions. She was willing to do anything except for that.

"Are you sure you don't have the meteorite with you? You're not carrying it around?" Heat critically raised his eyebrow.

Fuuko remained silent, offended by what he said. "Why would I have it with me?"

"You're probably using it." The boy's hand cupped her chin, facing it to the left then to the right. "Are you still wearing contacts?"

"I'm not usin' anythin' for cryin' out loud!" She almost bit the guy's fingers when she growled. "They are real so get your hands off me before I call Ulv—Yagami."

Despite the warning, Heat continued his careful observation. "If you're not using contact lenses then what was that sudden glow your eyes did back then? I'm sure it had something to do with the meteorite. It means you've been exposed to it. Where is it?"

"I don't have it!"

"Then tell me about your eyes."

"Plain red okay? But if I get exposed to the power of that meteorite… I guess it does makes it even redder. I suddenly get this feelin' that I should destroy everyone. The stronger the aura, the redder my vision becomes."

"Then you have it in you. It's somewhere on or in your body. Where is it Kuri?" He locked his deadly murderous eyes that certainly told he wants the thing so badly. He needed it more than anything else but for what?

"But that's done now Atsuishi! We're done with that hell. I just woke up from that insane nightmare and I don't wanna go back, doin' that stupid shit we went through." She stood up, her fists clenching in anger. Fuuko was trembling in fear and hate that she walked away, slamming the door behind her back.

Heat sank back on the couch, exhaling. "Ah what a bummer. Just when I thought I had her." Shutting his eyes for a moment and letting himself drift away.

He remembered how Fuuko's eyes glowed immensely as he was fighting with her. The same way he saw the members of team Epsilon were when they had been exposed to the meteorite, twice. They already had the necklace and it was a must for every single one of them to wear it at all times. And after being beaten by Raimon, they upgraded themselves and tried another risky trick. Another experiment that will completely ruin their lives forever. Wearing the necklace while being exposed in a room with the purple meteorite itself.

Imagine the greatness and overwhelming power it can give to a person. The destruction it can cause to one's body. And that was the very reason why they came out like an entirely different team. Thus, renaming themselves 'Epsilon Remastered'.

But everyone knew it was no joke for a team of teenagers to do that. The first days were nothing, but as days passed, members seemed to have problems of their own. Struggles that either broke or made them into who they were.

There were two regular members that got rushed to the hospital because of intense muscle pains and non-stop vomiting. One also got mentally unstable that he refused and decided to run away for good. So they decided to put Swarm and Moll to replace the old members. Even though they were fully aware that Swarm was only eleven at that time, they never hesitated on including him. Moll was not yet in good condition, her lungs were far too weak for physical activities. But they were persistent and made a customizable suit just for her—the spandex with her gas mask.

Sometimes right in the middle of a practice game with the robots, some would feel like their internal organs were being twisted and pulled by an unknown force. At times, they said it was pretty similar to drinking acid rain mixed with matchsticks and Zonrox. Metron almost lost his eyesight and he thought he was going to be blind for the rest of his life. Even Fadora had multiple unpleasant experiences. His height used to be average, around the same as Segata. But one day he woke up, growing fifty centimeters in one night. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well in the next few days. Whenever he tried moving his legs, he would instantly have an excruciating headache, so painful that he would scream endlessly until it faded away.

* * *

Heat stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before taking out his phone. He tapped the message icon and began typing.

[text message from Heat: I think we found what we're looking for. I just have to make sure.]

**Ping.**

[text message from Nepper: Oh… That's a surprise.]

[text message from Heat: I know. The problem is, I think it's inside her body. Or maybe inside her uniform. Idk.]

[text message from Nepper: What do you plan on doing? Are you going to cut her stomach open?]

[text message from Heat: Haha, maybe I can. Loljk. There's no way I can do that &amp; besides, maybe im just hallucinating… Maybe we should]

Then he stopped. Shortly, he deleted everything he typed.

[text message from Heat: Give me a demo.]

[text message from Nepper: That would ruin the fun. It's better to do it by yourself, you'll learn many things from it. ;)]

And before he could even hit the reply button, another message came.

[text message from Nepper: Is it that girl from Epsilon? The one with the weird headband?]

[text message from Heat: Yeah why?]

[text message from Nepper: Saw her crying when she went out. Did you do something nasty again? Wait, you stole her headband didn't you?]

[text message from Heat: NO. Hey! I even cleaned her room u know. Kill ppl w/ kindness right.]

[text message from Nepper: Yeah well you sure killed her mood. Good job. Just give me the meteorite as soon as possible. I need it before my dad arrives to come and pick me up.]

[text message from Heat: 3 days from now? I totally forgot remind me]

[text message from Nepper: I need that.]

[text message from Heat: I know. K? I'm gonna do smthn bout it.]

[text message from Nepper: Thanks. :)]

[text message from Heat: No prob honey]

[text message from Nepper: Don't.]

[text message from Heat: Okay bye.]

Heat slipped his phone back to his pocket and stood up.

_If you insist so much, then… _

He slowly walked to the bedroom, lit the room and began searching for the thing he needed.


	4. Chapter 4

Secrets We Tried to Hide

Chapter 4

* * *

_I can't believe I'm doing this._

Heat reached for his toes and groaned as soon as he felt some pain in his back. He flexed his muscles and did some jumping jacks on the spot.

_I shouldn't have showed it to him._

Another boy who was leaning against the kitchen counter smirked at him. He was absolutely thrilled at what was in front of him. Who wouldn't enjoy the sight of a boy wearing a tight spandex uniform of a girl? He continually sucked on his coca cola-flavored lollipop while tilting his head amusingly.

"Feeling anything yet?" Nepper, Prominence's former forward, asked.

Heat stood up straight and made some punches in the air. "Nope."

He snickered, shrugging with closed eyes. "Continue."

Then he tried kicking twice. Still nothing happened. He swung his foot all the way to the back like he intended to make a shoot, but it only ripped off a tiny portion of the uniform under his butt. Nepper laughed and sat on the counter. "Good job, you just ruined one of her only clothes."

Suddenly, his cheeks felt extremely hot that he felt like burning and melting directly down to the core of the Earth. "S-Stop that… She might even kill me for this." But instead of trying to think of a good insult to get back at Nepper, he waved his hand and went back to what he was doing. "What else haven't we tried?" He placed his hands on his hips, waiting for his answer.

Nepper blinked and gave the blonde boy a smug look. "If Desarm sees you like that, he might regret not having you in his team."

Heat flushed for the second time, frowning. "I thought you wanted the meteorite?" Sighing.

"I do, but this is far more fascinating than I thought it would be." And there it was, Nepper's sudden attractive grin that made Heat blush for the third time. Well at least this time, he managed to lessen it and avoided looking at his grey-blue eyes. The guy can be hard to read most of the time, but whenever he liked or loved what he was seeing, you can tell it from the look in his eyes.

"Y-You didn't even answer my question," Nervously cracking his knuckles before doing a handstand. "I guess you were too distracted."

"Me? How come?" He quirked a brow, then stared at the boy's position with great interest. Nepper got down and headed to where Heat was and crouched down right in front of him.

"Don't do something silly or I might fall down." Heat's arms began to wobble and shake.

Nepper looked at him with a straight expression, the same way he always looked. He got his lollipop and poked it on his lips. Heat suddenly lost his balance and fell head first on the floor.

"I told you not to—"

Nepper immediately shoved his lollipop into his mouth.

"I think I know where it is. Stand up." He ordered.

Heat almost wanted to puke out the candy from his mouth. If it weren't Nepper who had done that, he would've shouted and kicked the person's face. It was warm, he thought. He unconsciously sucked on it for a while before following what he said. Then it occurred to him, _Nepper's saliva. Does this mean we…?_ Taking the lollipop out from his mouth and staring at the other boy completely stuttered and embarrassed.

"Tastes good huh?" Nepper playfully licked his lips and folded his arms.

Heat gave out a baffled 'yes' without even meaning to.

"Then might as well get one, Shigeto." Leaning in towards the candy at the boy's hand, he got the lollipop using his mouth and winked at him.

"O-Oi, that's not fair. I thought we were sharing…"

His tongue made noises that caught his attention. "You were saying something?"

Heat narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to him. "Yes. I said it was totally _unfair_ for someone not to share. Father taught us how to be generous when it came to food, am I right?"

"_Father?_ Whom are you referring to? I can't help but wonder." The grin on his face faded away and instantly shifted to a harsher one. "Right, I haven't told you about my motive yet."

_Motive. Nepper's plan._

It was also the one thing he was so interested in knowing. Heat was curious about it ever since he told him that he needed the purple meteorite. Things like, will Nepper try to use the meteorite again? Will he take it to a research facility and try to experiment on it further, making a much more effective drug? As much as he wanted to ask his close friend, he couldn't. Because he was pretty sure that he would just shoot him a smirk and tell him to forget about it.

At first he wanted to stop him, even now. His mind was still being bombarded by curiosity and confusion. Yet there was this unshakable feeling inside him that told him to wait. It was awfully weird. The feeling just kept on pulling him back.

"What are you going to do with it?" His face turned serious.

"I'm going to tell you right after we locate where the crystal is, which in this case, is probably here." Nepper tapped the small gem-like decoration on Heat's chest with the tip of his lollipop. To Heat's surprise, it clicked and opened as he pressed it, revealing a hollow part inside.

_Is it really…? Was the crystal hidden in here?_

* * *

Mutou was happily dancing to his 'Party Jam Galaxy' playlist in his room. Out of all the members in Epsilon, he was the only one who has some stereo speakers, which he got from the Burn—sharing with Burn. He wasn't technically the first one who found it; it was Diam from Gemini Storm. According to Burn, Diam showed it to Midorikawa that very same day. But for some reasons, Midorikawa thought it would be useless for him, so instead, he proposed something else. He suggested that they should sell it. Of course, Diam questioned him and was reluctant on doing so.

Burn overheard the entire selling thing and got insanely furious because of some old speakers. The next day came and Diam was shocked to see that they were actually gone. What actually happened was Burn asked Mutou, who was in charge of cleaning the dishes that night, to hide the speakers. Mutou did agree, only if he would get to use the speakers whenever he wants.

Burn almost sent him flying to outer space, _almost_. But he insisted on a heavier consequence and that was, one week of cleaning the toilet. Mutou tried to negotiate and told him that one week was too much. So Burn decided to challenge him by whoever gets to make Nemuro cry, will be the winner.

Unfortunately, no one was hailed as the winner. Even when Burn tried smashing one of his favorite Bugs Bunny mugs, the little guy ignored him. Then the next day, when he woke up, he found all of his clothes being burnt just outside of the apartment. So Burn had no choice but to borrow Midorikawa and Hiroto's clothes before they went out to shop for some new ones.

For Mutou, he did something much simpler. He grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up so his feet were dangling in the air. Nemuro winced in pain and kicked his chest real hard that it almost made him puke out some blood. From then on, he never messed with the goalkeeper.

As he raised the volume up, he started swinging his hips and making pop and lock moves like he was totally rocking it. That was when he bumped to a hard object. He turned to look behind him and was startled to see that it wasn't the couch or the cheap lampshade from a 90's motel. It was definitely a person.

Droll, Diamond Dust, and Chaos' midfielder placed a hand on his hip and pointed the door behind his back using his thumb. "You gotta go," He said unemotionally.

"Go where? Oh, oh. I get it my music's too loud." Despite the vibrating music that was making their bodies thump, he halted. "Wait why are you even here anyway?"

Although Metron was screaming, Droll pointed behind him again, signaling for them to head out.

Metron lowered down his music and asked what was going on. Then Droll clicked his tongue and pointed at the door again. "One of your teammates is losing it."

"What? Who?"

"A girl."

"Like what? Another emotional breakdown?" Metron asked concernedly.

He nodded, opening the door for both of them.

Right after they went out of his room, Metron heard some noises on the left side. Plus some muffled screaming coming from the same direction. When they stopped in front of the room, they both almost jumped in shock after hearing a loud pound on the wall.

"Woah, I didn't mean to bother you…"

_Wait I'm not even sorry for that. Why am I saying this?_

Droll knocked on the door for him and swung it open for him to enter. And just like that, he went back to his room like it was a normal day in the orphanage.

"Hold up this is… I thought Segata went away?" Counting the room from his room. Surely it was Zel's.

The other guy gave him a casual shrug.

"Not again…" He sighed and scratched his head a bit irritatingly. "So who is it today? Maquia? Moll? Crypto?" Walking along the corridor that led inside the living room. A thing flew past by in front of him—a pillow that almost smacked his face for good. "JESUS—WHO WOULD DO THAT?!" Turning to his side, seeing a figure of a woman in the dark room.

The woman was holding a string that had a glowing pendant. And it only took Metron a quarter of a second to notice what she was holding. The Aliea Meteorite, a maleficent creation of a devil.

"What on Earth!?" Metron couldn't get his eyes off the thing. It was drawing him back again. Drawing him nearer, pulling him like a magnet. Then he saw who was holding it. The light of the meteorite lightened those bewildered red eyes.

He ran to her and held her wrists against the wall, not letting them go.

"Mutou!" Fuuko still held the string of the necklace. "Listen to me." Her eyes were still shocked from the recent happening.

"No! _You_ listen to me." He was completely aware of the meteorite's aura, coating itself around them. The feeling was unrealistic. It was far more tremendous than his first exposure to the crystal. "You… what are you trying to do!"

"Mutou I need you to hide it."

"Hide it?! Why would I hide that thing!?" He shouted close to her face.

"Don't shout and just listen to me for ONCE, PLEASE." Mutou's eyes were terribly bothersome. Especially how hard he gripped her wrists like she was some kind of a stray animal.

Metron's mouth hung open as he shaked his head frantically. "No Crypto just what is this? You think I can let this pass just like that?!"

Fuuko gritted her teeth and kicked his crotch seeing no other option. She swiftly sat on his abdomen, covering his mouth like her life depended on it. Metron struggled and slapped her hands away. She made an shh sign with her forefinger, glaring at him.

"Listen to me carefully shithead. I need 'ya to hide this for me, just not 'ere. Hide it somewhere else." She whispered in a very small voice, releasing her hand from his mouth.

"NO, I CAN'T—"

**Slap.**

"OUCH!"

**Slap.**

"Ouch." He whispered and rubbed his red cheek. "Okay."

"Good." She sighed in relief after she took a quick glance at the door.

"I mean no it's not okay! Tell me what the hell is going on here! Why are you even in Segata's room? I thought he went away and how could this even…?! Your room is like two doors from here!"

"Just!" Fuuko covered his mouth and punched his side, enough for him to wince and crumple on the floor. "Somethin', I forgot somethin' and could 'ya just listen to me for one-second dammit."

"I won't accept this."

"Forget that we're in Sega's room and shut up for once, please. I need 'ya to hide this for me." Pulling up the string up to his eyes.

"Where did you even get that? Throw it away. No, hand it over," He held out his palm. "Now."

"I will."

"You will?"

"Yes."

"What? You know what I don't get you at all. Seriously. I thought you were having some kind of a massive baby tantrum and then here you are acting like a total mess."

"In one condition."

"I'm not listening."

"Then listen." This time, she pulled the end of his hair.

"Ouch hey, stop abusing me!"

"Keep it but never throw it."

_As if._ Mutou grabbed the pendant as quick as he could but just before he could get it from her, Fuuko was still tightly gripping the end of the string. They both gave glares at each other while they were holding the necklace. _I don't even know what you're up to. Or why you're even in here. _

"So," Fuuko was still holding the other end. "Do we have a deal?"

"You haven't even explained why you're in this room." He pulled the pendant to his but Fuuko pulled it back so it remained in the middle of both of them.

"I needed to cry somewhere."

"Why not do it in your room?"

"I was sick of my own room. I needed to be in Sega's room and I told 'ya, I forgot somethin' in 'ere." She narrowed her eyes in the darkly lit bedroom.

"Show me."

For a second, Mutou knew she hesitated. She needed to think of something and it took her about ten to fifteen seconds to answer back.

"The meteorite."

"So _this_ is yours?"

"That's why I need 'ya to keep it somewhere safe 'cause I'll be needin' it. I'm goin' to sell it somewhere. I need the money to bail out my brother. Older brother."

"You… have a brother? What?" He looked like he didn't understand what she said. Mutou failed to hold the pendant and stood in his place, digesting what he heard. "T-This is obviously a joke! Crypto I can't believe you're doing this, are you out of your mind?! No, get out. Shut up I don't wanna hear any of this! Hand it over!"

"Kuri Takegawa!" She shouted very loudly. "That's the name of my brother."

"Let me guess. You just made that up while I was saying all those things? TRY HARDER CRYPTO."

"I have! Now keep this or I'm gonna march straight to your room an' destroy those damn speakers right before your eyes. Now do we have a deal or not?"

"How unfair is that?"

"Speakers it is then."

* * *

This time, Metron wasn't in the mood to jam to his party playlists no matter how good the songs were. He was slumped back on the couch with his chin resting on his palm. It can't be helped, he thought. Who cares if he was frowning at her, showing his grumpiness and annoyance? Fuuko totally ruined his night. She messed up his 'normal nights where he can stay up late without being consciously bothered or feeling guilty'. What's worse was this girl decided to stay in his room for one night. When he disagreed, she kicked the speakers hard enough that created a bent.

Metron knelt down in front of the speakers to check and good thing it wasn't malfunctioning. But every time the music hit the highest notes, it made this creaky sound like it was about to break down.

"So if that thing was in Segata's room, what was it doing in there? It's yours isn't it?"

Fuuko turned down the volume and didn't dare face him. "Must've forgotten it."

"You forgot the meteorite in his room? You forgot the one and only thing that you should have hidden?" He finally turned off the speakers and sighed. "We all know what you were doing in his room." Metron's eyes met the wall right beside him.

"Who?" She turned quickly, feeling a sense of heat in her neck.

_Was it too obvious? No one should know… I mean was I acting differently?_

"Quit that look. You don't want them to know right?" His hand reached for a soggy dry towel and folded it into half, wiping the dust from his beloved machine. "The others don't know a thing about it. As far as I know, I'm the only one who knows what's going on. But that doesn't mean the others are far too innocent not to get suspicious. Careful with Epsilon… our team members." The warning made her feel slightly uneasy.

"Desarm?"

"Moll asked me once." One of the knobs suddenly fell down on the floor and caused him to curse in Korean.

"Did 'ya just—" Fuuko gave him a quizzical stare.

They both stood still and gave each other weird awkward stares. It took him half a minute to realize what had just occurred, before giving the girl a response.

"—Don't ask any further, I like k-pop. Moving on," Picking up the black knob that was on the floor, he carefully placed it back on its spot.

"Moll." She whispered, reminding herself where they left off. "But she left a week ago? She probably won't come back for months so there'll be no threat."

"But what if she comes back, say a week or more?"

"Wha'ever." Shrugging her shoulders, glancing to her side.

"You can't just whatever that." Metron faced the blond girl, folding his arms as he tilted his head concernedly. "How do you… feel about this anyway? No offense but Segata, that guy's a crazy son of a gun. He's a…" Then he finally decided to throw the dry towel on the couch and cut off his sentence. "A piece of advice, just know what you're up to."

_Wow. This guy must know a lot. _

To think that he, of all people, would give an advice to her just like that is plainly shocking. She was uncertain of him; she wasn't that even close to him. They only talked to each other when they had to. Therefore, everything that was happening right now wasn't right. It was totally weird. Too weird that she felt like fleeing immediately.

Fuuko narrowed her eyes at him, shooting him a huge smirk. "What made 'ya think that I wasn't prepared for the consequences? Do I look that stupid to 'ya?" Her hands twitched, wanting to grab the nearest thing that she could and hit him straight at his face.

"Just consider it as a warning." Another unnecessary precaution from the purple alien. "Anyway, I've got bizarre news."

"Spill it." Unemotionally fixing her tight sleeves.

"I was walking down the canteen hall and when I was about to leave, I heard Hitomiko talking to Desarm. I couldn't hear what they were saying at first but when it got somewhere in the middle… you wouldn't guess what… I heard." Metron's eyes flashed with suspense like he wanted to tell it right away.

"He got a death threat from his family?" Making matters worse.

"No. His family is dead."

_What?_

"And one more thing. I got a message from Maquia asking if you're doing well. She's worried sick about you that she'll be coming here tomorrow."

"Nothin' happened to me why would she even…?"

"Didn't you phone her or something?"

"No. Why would I tell her to come back here if she just left this place?"

"Why are you asking me? She said there was something going on, that's why she's going back to check on you. Are you sure you didn't call her?" Metron gave me another worried look that brought the same effect on her.

"No! Who would even call her? No one has her number except for me an'—"

And just like that, a spark ignited in her brain. Fuuko quickly got a pillow and threw it out of the window without even realizing that it hit a stray cat. "Shit!" She cursed for about fifteen times before she started thinking of a plan with one of her former teammates.

To be precise, it took both of them two hours to think of a decent plan. Metron got slapped on his cheek for being a lot more nervous than Fuuko was. So in the first twenty minutes, they were simply shouting and hitting each other's arms to get their shit together. Not even his Summer Chill Vibes playlist could calm him down at first. The only thing that made him sit down was when Fuuko ate his one and only Snickers bar in the fridge.

He stood up just in time when she finished all of it, just like on cue. But right after he took three steps forward, he totally forgot what he was supposed to do so he sat back down. "What was I…" Metron mumbled and headed to the kitchen, opened the fridge and finally remembered what was on his mind. "That was my only Snickers! You could've eaten Reese's or Hershey's but instead, you ate the last piece of Snickers that was in the very side of the fridge. Very side. Very. It was UNDER THE EGGS… side… under the eggs, well you get me anyway."

Now the funny part was, Fuuko told him to head out and cool off his head but she was the one who went out to buy some Oreos for her own. Mutou kept sighing as he paced back and forth around his room, waiting for her to come back when someone rang the doorbell. He looked through the peephole only to see a little girl with purple hair tied into two big buns.

Kui Ruru, Genesis' Quill.

Don't be deceived by its appearance, they used to tell. A cutie patootie. Your average six-year-old kid, hugging a fluffy teddy bear but instead of a plushie, she's holding a machete. Most of the Diamond Dust members call her Chucky's bride or even The Triple Six. Gazelle even said that some kind of a demonic entity made its way here on earth just to stick that Illuminati symbol up on her forehead. Little did they know, it was some sort of colored henna.

The girl rang the doorbell five more times, excitedly giggling while staring at the peephole. Soon enough, it slightly scared Metron that he reminded himself that she couldn't see him unless he decides to open the door and let the killer in.

"Crap," he muttered, biting the nail of his thumb. "The annoying brat is here. Okay, act cool. Nothing's gonna happen. She's just here for some candies." Then he peeked out of his door.

The cute chuckling continued on.

"Sooooo, how's it going for our lovebirds huh?" Quill leaned her upper body forward with both of her hands behind her back. "I wanna hear what happened. So what did you guys do, hmm? Spoon feeding each other in the kitchen or are you doing some naughty stuff in your bed? Hihi."

_Oh god no._ Mutou did a facepalm that lasted for solid ten seconds. _Why does God hate me?_

"Ohhhh so you did. Yeah you see, I don't get why people with big boobs get so much attention. Tell me, was it soft? I bet they were, fufu!"

He resisted the urge of punching her. No, wait, he couldn't. He was too tall for her. Or else, he would be punching the air instead and that would make him look like a stupid maniac and he wouldn't want that.

"I don't know what you're talking about… and geez it's half past midnight shouldn't kids be in bed at this hour?" Mutou relaxed his fists and shook his head.

"Avoiding the question aren't we?" The small girl playfully winked at the guy. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'll keep my mouth shut." Another disgusting, irritating wink.

"Uh, no." He was getting tired of what was going on. Somehow, he just wants to slam the door right at her face. Give her a flat face so he could see her run away, crying like a real baby. Fleeing away to outer space, living in another galaxy because of how shameful and awful her flat face would look like.

"Sshh," Her forefinger was placed on her lips, winking at him again. "I get it don't worry. No one will know, not even Gran. Not even your friends, not even mine. Hihi. Shhh." Quill nodded exaggeratedly, smiling from ear to ear before she took off and ran away.

And when he was finally left with no one but himself, he let out a deep sigh.

_Seriously, what's wrong with everyone?_

"There's only one way on how to deal with someone like that. Ignore them." Said a boy who was leaning on his left shoulder with a cool expression implanted on his face. He folded his arms and proceeded to chew his gum.

Heat, the guy whom he never talked with, was offering him a piece of gum.

Mutou flashed his usual friendly grin and waved his hand. "I'm having coffee right now. It'll ruin the taste so…"

"Planning on staying up late? There must be something going on." That was when he saw the red flag. A major warning that woke him up completely. This guy must definitely know something if he knows something was up, he thought. Especially the suspicious look he gave him. It hit him all at once.

"Haha, well no not really." He lightly scratched his neck and shrugged at him. "I'm just waiting for one of my friends to come back. Asked them to buy me some snacks in the convenience store. We'll be having a movie marathon."

"This late?" Heat raised an eyebrow, making a small bubble that began to grow as he blew it.

"Yep. Crypto and me decided to watch some DVDs since we couldn't sleep. How about you? Are you the hallway monitor or something? Do we even have that job…?" Metron made sure he was asking nicely.

**Pop.**

"Hm, just wandering around. Oh, by the way, is that her room over there?" Pointing at Fuuko's apartment room.

"Yeah, why?" The guy nodded and before Heat could give him an answer, he already knew what was up. There was something just in front of her door, something small and flat. He squinted his eyes and moved closer. It wasn't a pet or someone else's cat.

"It's probably her uniform. I found it while I was walking past her room. Someone must've left it there." The boy remained unbothered despite the weird incident. "Just tell her that when she comes back." He waved the back of his palm and left.

Mutou locked the door behind him and walked to her room. Heat wasn't lying. What he said was true. There was Fuuko's spandex uniform folded on the ground. When he got the clothes and checked it, a small note fell on the ground. He picked it up and read what was written.

"Time's running out." He muttered.


	5. Chapter 5

Secrets We Tried to Hide

Chapter 5

* * *

Heat couldn't wait any longer. If he wants to have the meteorite for himself, he has to do it by force.

* * *

"So you think purple boy and crab lady are working together? What made you say that?" Nepper picked up an old coca cola cap bottle on the dusty ground. Despite the garage having a single flickering light, it didn't illuminate much the entire room. It was a hot sunny day and here they were, in a dirty old garage behind the Sun Garden.

Heat nodded and made his way through the pile of junks. "Instincts. Ever since the day I blackmailed her, she's trying to distance herself away from me." He sighed and got almost tripped by a wire.

"Hmm." The guy threw the cap bottle to his direction, which landed right on top of his head and bounced off to the ground.

"Hey—" Brushing off his hair, letting the cap fall on the ground. "Well, what are we doing here anyway? It's pretty hot in this place you know…" The boy fanned himself with his hand, but it didn't work. The heat was too much for him.

Nepper crouched down and pushed a deflated soccer ball with three of his fingers. "To arm yourself for tonight's fight." The ball moved a little and he kicked it to the side to clear his path. "Ah, here we are." Just when the soccer ball stopped in a corner, it bumped into something that made it clatter as it fell. When Nepper turned back to him, he was holding a crowbar.

Heat sweated nervously while letting out a small laugh. "There won't be any fight."

"There will." The other guy sounded convincing.

Placing his hands on his hips, he then shrugged and closed his eyes. "Nepper… don't say it like you're so sure about it. You're making me nervous." Heat glanced to his side as a tiny nerve wracking grin formed.

"Or are you a close combat type?" Nepper continued rummaging through the boxes that were full of broken toys, bolts, and nuts. "Here." He threw him a screwdriver and casually caught it with one hand.

"I can't hurt a girl. You know that." Slowly placing the screwdriver on top of the wooden table.

"Well this time you will, and you'll make history with me." There it goes again, that insane handsome smile. "And what happened to the Heat I knew from Chaos? I'd like to talk to him."

Heat suddenly felt like he was being surrounded by warm, fuzzy sparkles that came directly from Rome. It was unbelievable. He stood there, frozen like a statue while Nepper was waving a wooden stick to get his attention. No good. The lad was completely in a different world. He was flying somewhere else together with his soul.

"Hey." Nepper snapped his fingers.

"Oh hey. What?"

"I said come here."

"Oh." He immediately went to his side and found his friend staring directly at an old rusty children's bike. The bike had glittery; girly stickers pasted everywhere that definitely caught their unwanted attention. "Must be Fumi-chan's." He guessed. Well, it had to be hers, no doubt.

"What if I told you it was Wheeze's?" Nepper said in a deadpan expression.

Heat was about to say "are you kidding me?" when he saw how serious his face was. And these were those times when he didn't know if he had to laugh or not. It was a crucial way of making good guys suffer. So he lightly slapped his forehead and forced a cute laugh.

"Right. Oh, why didn't I think of that? Haha…!" Folding his arms while he continued humiliating himself to the next level.

"No, I was joking. It's mine."

There was total silence. Until Heat burst out in loud laughter, echoing almost everywhere.

"OH GOD NEPPER? Why didn't you tell me?!" Heat patted his back thrice that made him glare at him.

"The stickers aren't mine. Quill probably stuck them there… since me and Nero had the same bike before. She hates him. Worst possible enemies." He knelt down in front of his old bike and examined it. "Why do small people hate each other? Instead of fighting over who's taller, why not glue themselves together to make one giant Dwayne Johnson?"

"Well, Nemuro's kinda cool with her I think."

"They hate each other. And that's not the latest gossip around this orphanage." He crawled forward, reaching for something underneath and when he got back up, he was holding a small pocketknife. Nepper went back to the table and put it beside the screwdriver and all the things they had collected in an hour of scavenging.

Heat scanned what was on the table and there were five things. A screwdriver, a pocketknife, a cutter, a half-shattered beer bottle, and a baseball bat. Basically, things you can arm yourself with during a zombie apocalypse.

"I'll go with the pocket knife." Crossing his arms while glancing at Heat.

"I am not going to kill anyone here. I refuse to kill someone, especially when it's someone from the orphanage." Frowning back at the lad whose eyes were shining with intenseness.

"Then tell me. How are you going to threaten her?"

"There are plenty of other ways like taking someone as a hostage. Simple as that."

"But that's not how I do things. I have a different way of settling things. Simple and fast." Nepper took the cutter and tried slicing it to his finger. It was sharper than he expected. After seconds, a few blots of blood came out of the cut and began dripping down his thumb.

Heat handed him a piece of cloth hanging on one of the boxes. "Yeah but sometimes there has to be a plan."

Nepper got the cloth and wrapped it around his finger. "There is a plan." He lifted the baseball bat and made a full power swing. It whooshed in the air after Heat backed away just in time. The guy gave him an evil grin and relaxed his arm. He handed him over the weapon that he was holding. "Remember, the ball should always hit the bat."

* * *

Someone kept ringing the doorbell in Mach 20 speed. Fuuko cursed and took off her headband, throwing it at the door angrily. "Yeah yeah comin'!"

As soon as she swung the door open, she was greeted with a mad rich girl who had two Gucci bags with her. Dropping them to the ground and tackling the girl into a tight hug.

Maquia's hair was down all the way to her hips. Fuuko hasn't seen her bring down her hair ever since she met her. She thought a wealthy princess was suffocating her. Her Chloe cologne smelled like fresh powder that made Fuuko sneeze. But that's not it. Maquia was wearing a little silver tiara on top of her head.

"Who knew 'ya were a princess? Please tell me Sega's your manservant slash peasant slave." Fuuko fixed her tiny tiara and beamed a smile.

"Oh shut up!" Maquia pulled away and placed her hands on her waist with her fists balled. "Maquia was so worried about you! Maquia thought something happened! Really, really bad and Maquia didn't know what to do!" Leaning her upper body while pouting like a baby.

"'Ya didn't answer my question." She frowned, chuckling.

"Sega will soon be my prince." Replying with her eyes being sparkly and merrily clasping her hands together.

_Oh right. That's why your prince charming ran away from me. Looks like I'm the peasant now._

"Well, make sure 'ya get somethin' like a ten feet vanilla cake and there has to be a crab croquette in the buffet or else I won't go." Fuuko winked at the girl.

Maquia let out a hearty laugh which made Fuuko's heart melt for her best friend. She remembered the days when the three of them would stay in the couch, telling jokes and lame ass puns. Cheesy punchlines and some nasty old stories from their non-existent parents.

If it hadn't been for her sweet laugh, she would've felt bad for herself. Being completely sucked into the pit of darkness, feeling nothing but immense jealousy and hatred.

Maquia held her stomach and waved her hand in front of her watery eyes. "Maquia hates crabs! You know Maquia's allergic to them."

"Then I guess I won't go to yer wedding then." The girl smirked and flipped her blonde hair.

"Rude. We won't have our best woman then! That's a shame… Getting a replacement is a pain in the ass too." Trying to fake a sulking face. She covered her face with both of her hands. "Maquia's too afraid to ask Ulvida. She's too scary."

"Oh, my~ Is our bride cryin' all of a sudden? Now that's no good." Fuuko clicked her tongue and approached the pitiful girl. "There, there. Prince charmin' will arrive soon and he'll save the day. He's not goin' anywhere." She wrapped her arms around her and gently patted her head. Then her face turned hard. An expression that everyone was far too familiar with. The face of abandonment. "He's not gonna leave 'ya, never."

Maquia kissed her cheek and happily hopped off to the living room. "You don't have to tell Maquia that. He's mine after all."

Fuuko's eyes widened while still facing the door. The moment she turned around, she found her spinning around and bobbing a curtsey to her direction. Her face softened for a moment, then changing into a bitter and meaner expression.

"Fine then, I'll go to your wedding." She raised a brow while slightly chinning up.

"How wonderful. Maquia is so pleased and you better come in your prettiest dress. Or else Maquia's gonna drag you out of the ceremony and scold you. Maquia's best friend should be as gorgeous as Maki."

"Ah, there's no need. I might come home together with your prince charmin' if I do that. But don't worry, I'll wear somethin' much more extravagant."

Puffing her cheeks, she made a _hmph_-ing sound. "Just because you have big boobs."

"I'm kiddin'~ c'mon. I'll just wear my spandex uniform since I have nothin' else to wear."

"Then what?"

"Then I'll go an' crash your wedding." Fuuko gave her a flying kiss as she winked. But then, she shook her head afterward. "Haha, as if I'll do that to my best friend. No way in hell I can." She added, waving her hand.

"Ohh," Maquia covered her mouth with one hand. "Don't tell me you want to have my prince Fuuko, hmm?" Moving closer to the blonde girl with a very teasing smile.

Fuuko blinked.

Maquia's playful grin grew wider.

A hand slowly landed on the cute girl's forehead. Carefully, she ruffled her silky, blue-green hair.

"Only princesses get to have their own prince."

* * *

_"I do have a plan and I'll do it my way. If you have any problems with that, then have it your way." _

_"Is it too much to have blood on your hands? Pft. When will you grow up?"_

_"No one will be killing no one tonight. But it will be nasty. Unless…" _

Heat's words echoed somewhere in the very corner of Nepper's brain. It sounded distant and tiny, but it sure made its way through his mind, through the tiny gaps on his ear canal that went straight up to his brain.

He played with the knife he found back in the garage, pointing it in between his fingers.

"I don't care what methods you use. As long as I get what I want." He spoke and swiftly threw the knife that accurately hit a doll's eye.

"Don't let me down Shigeto, or I'll let you down."

* * *

He doesn't even know why he was hiding. All he knows is that no one should see him. So he has to be fast and silent while sneaking out. Was this even sneaking out? Actually, he just needs to visit Fuuko to see how she's doing with Maquia. It kind of bothered him and he was slightly getting anxious.

Metron opened the door and dashed as quietly as he could when someone shouted something behind him. A loud greeting that made his heart cease.

"Just in time for the party! You're here to see Maki-chan too?" Heat showed his bright, genuine smile with his arms extended on both sides. "Then let me escort you."

_You're the least person I wanted to hear that from!_

"You wanna see her too?" Metron closed the door, doubtfully staring at the lad. Heat's grin remained as he nodded back.

"Mn, she's part of my family. And even though we played for different teams in the past, we still came from the same place. Isn't that right?"

_Oh, man._ Metron was getting the creeps. Yes, this was his normal self yet it seemed… extremely odd. Being far too nice and just way too kind. _You two are not even close!_

"Right, right. Haha," Metron faced his lower right side and scratched his nape. "Yeah, totally forgot that you two knew each other. Could you umm… tell me, since when did you two become the closest buddies in the world?"

"…Oh. You never knew?" But he started marching towards their place, even making his eyes smile with brightness.

"Hey wait up!" _Why does he walk so fast?_ "So tell me, when?"

And in a matter of seconds, they arrived in front of the door. Heat knocked twice and even rang the doorbell just to make sure. It was also strange that he was wearing his Prominence uniform. Usually, he would wear his own clothes. Shirts that had some lightning logos all over or some words that were printed in bold, from foul language to casual, everyday words. It varied from his choice. Every day, the guy had a different shirt. But it was only this time when Metron noticed that he was wearing an old uniform of his.

"Hmm. Probably when we were kids. I wouldn't really say that we're really close, but we do talk to each other. It just doesn't seem like it." Coolly shrugging.

Metron didn't mean to snicker out so loud. "I thought your childhood best bud was Burn?"

"Mn, him too."

"And even the headband guy?"

"Headband guy has a name." He inserted both of his hands inside the pockets while patiently waiting for someone to open the door. "It's Netsuha Natsuhiko. But I don't think he likes it when you call him by his real name. And 'Nepper' is way easier to remember."

"Now aren't you the friendly type? ーOi, open up the door!" Pounding endlessly. "I don't think anyone's even here."

_Crypto, make sure you look at the peephole before__ー_

"Who is it?" Fuuko opened the door and both guys looked at her. Metron's face looked horrible at that moment. Like a bus had hit him. Then the poor guy backed away, pointing at Heat with his eyes. The blonde boy waved his hand at her eagerly.

"We're here to welcome back your friend." Heat showed a cheeky grin, checking if Maquia's inside. Fuuko glared at him and closed the door a little, making the gap thinner.

"Whyd'ya bring him here?" She faced Metron.

"He said he wanted to see her."

"Party's strictly for Epsilon members only. C'mon Mutou."

Metron stepped forward when Heat smiled sadly, scratching his scar. "I was supposed to be a part of your team."

"Really?" Metron stopped in his tracks, completely getting his full attention. Apparently, Fuuko pulled him by the back part of his shirt and laughed mockingly.

"Nice try but wasn't it Rean?"

He mouthed her name, trying to recall who the girl was. _Rean?_ Until Mutou finally knew who they were talking about.

"But we had some sort of a problem. None of the girls wanted to leave the team. So technically," He parted both Fuuko and Mutou away, making a path for himself. "I am one." Fuuko wanted to stop him, but he made his way inside.

Metron grabbed her arm. "I don't know what's happening. He suddenly showed up. You know what this means." Whispering softly in her ear before they entered.

"We need to get tha' bastard out of here."

Just then they heard a shrill scream that surprised them. When they ran to where Maquia was, Heat was holding her. Squeezing her by the neck, not letting her go. Maquia couldn't breathe. In fact, she was having a hard time trying to say something. Nothing was coming out from her mouth except for short painful gasps. Although Heat's arm was being scratched with long, sharp nails, he never showed any signs of pain. He stood there, squeezing her by the neck tighter as they came closer.

"Oi!" Metron shouted madly.

"Let her go 'ya filthy son of a bitch!" Even for Fuuko, it was too hard not to raise her fist.

"Woah, woah. Everybody calm down and just hand it over." Heat said it as gently as he could, with the same endearing look on his cool, good-looking face. He extended his palm. "Don't make me wait."

"Yeah, you calm down Heat." Metron replied, his eyes examining the entire room.

"Nope. Not the thing that I'm looking for."

"The darn thing doesn't exist Atsuishi!" Fuuko roared like an untamed lion.

"Still not the thing that I'm looking for." Staring at Maki's face as if he was actually observing a face of a marble statue.

Metron's eyes became ten times larger. "Wait what?! So… he…?" His head went back and forth, looking at Fuuko then to Heat with perplexed eyes. There seem to have been a tiny click in his brain, but he still couldn't figure out what it was. But there was something. Like a piece of information that had been buried under and kept hidden.

"You see, little miss pretty here is having an affair with your boyfriend. I saw them four times already." Heat continued to talk just beside Maquia's ear. "Talk about having sex with the wild elf himself, tell me Fuuko, did it feel good?"

Hell was rising. The true hatred that she felt for this guy became clearer. Her blood boiled in her veins and cartilages. It only took her a second to shift back to the meaner and darker Crypto. The one who threatened and tried destroying numerous schools. The person who loved seeing other humans suffer from how frivolous they were.

**Badump. **

Suddenly, everything around her became slower. Time stopped all of a sudden. She could see it; she can see every little movement.

**Badump.**

Fuuko inhaled deeply.

**Badump.**

As she opened her eyes, her body screamed nothing but malice. Pure destructiveness took over.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

* * *

Fuuko charged and grabbed anything near her, which was a glass on the center table, and aggressively threw it at Heat. He let go of Maquia and docked to his left, rolling behind the chair. The glass shattered on the wall, the shattered pieces raining down on Maquia. Fuuko didn't mean to do that, but at least the guy let go of her. If not, he would've probably snapped her neck the moment she attacked.

"Mutou get Maquia!" She shouted and got pushed hard when Heat kicked the single seater couch to her when she wasn't looking. Fuuko fell back down on the ground and almost bumped her head on the wall. "Mutou!" She screamed louder, but there was no one there at the door.

_That pussy! He ran away!_

Just then, something fast hit Fuuko's cheek. "Ugh! What theー" This time she caught a glimpse of the flat, disk-like thing that was being thrown. Grabbing one of the magazines that were just a few inches away from her reach, she covered herself with it then it landed pretty hard on her. It smashed the moment it came contact with the ground. She realized it wasn't frisbees, but plates.

Fuuko stood up, still dazed by the pain on her cheek. "How manly. Who throws some fuckin' plates to a girl's face?!" Glancing at every direction, her eyes caught him.

Heat locked the bedroom where Maquia was screaming on top of her lungs, forcing to open the door. The doorknob kept on rattling insanely and they started to hear her sobbing.

Heat took a quick look on the door and smirked a little. "She's gonna be fine." Then he faced back at Fuuko. "As long as you give me the meteorite right now. Oh, wait. Never mind. My patience is wearing thin."

The boy ran forward and jumped on air like he was about to punch her. Fuuko flipped the center table with all her might and Heat collided with it. He fell on the floor, his hand on his head as he winced.

When he opened his eyes, he knew it was going to be painful. It had to be. Fuuko punched him twice and he kicked her so hard that she flew to the side, knocking the television aside. His nose was bleeding all thanks to She-Hulk.

Though he could smell his own blood, he still smiled and laughed to himself. "Can't believe you punch like a nine-year-old." Letting it bleed down to his mouth and chin. He wiped it with his arm and stared at the wet blood that was on his uniform.

"I'm gonna… slice yourー"

Heat furiously kicked a soccer ball at her at close range. She wished she could have moved just a little so it would have hit her thighs instead of bulls-eying the center of her abdomen. Of course, it hurt so badly. Especially when it's a boy. Second, when he's just seven feet away from where she was slightly hanging on the dented wall from the immense impact.

The feeling was grueling. She felt her stomach being squished and darted with a massive needle that had poisonous venom from a cobra. She coughed out some blood, splattering everywhere.

But Heat wasn't done yet.

He approached the girl and gently wiped the blood off her face using his sleeve. "Sshh. It's okay."

Fuuko fell forward, but he didn't dare move. He let her body fall on the ground like a lifeless corpse. Yet he knows that she was still conscious.

He kneeled down and rolled over her body. She was too weak to be a threat; her fingers were the only parts of her body that were still moving. Faintly moving.

"But before I go, we have to make sure." Eying the little, circular thing on her chest in the middle. "Do you understand?"

Her eyes were terrifyingly angry.

Why was she in this position? Why was she the one being beaten around here?

The thought sent her landing another punch just under his jaw. It wasn't that strong to begin with, but the punch sure did piss him off. When he turned to look back at her, he held her by the hair. Restraining her head movements and decided to strike the round thing on her chest. It broke and her entire upper abdomen felt extremely excruciating. As if her lungs had stopped functioning and all her muscles were induced by some kind of a drug.

Fuuko choked out more blood and then her vision faded away to blackness. Letting her sleep from her distress.

Heat saw nothing inside the crushed, tiny circle that was part of her uniform.

His head fell backward, shutting his eyes and sighing in dismay. "Metron." Quietly mumbling as he slowly retrieved a pocketknife from his behind.

_Nepper… _

He was all he could think of. The moment this chaotic riot had started. Ever since the guy accidentally kissed him one time.

An accident that he will never forget. He couldn't forget the kiss. How could he?

* * *

Metron left his room open with the speakers loudly booming around the apartment. Redfoo's New Thang was playing, one of his favorite songs of the week. He couldn't decide which one was better. The song GDFR sang by Flo Rida or the previous song mentioned.

He also knew that he would probably be the reason why their neighbors might have a heart attack. And today was the day they will depart to the undead world.

He thought it might be a pretty good distraction.

The alien was pretty quick on his feet. He sprinted all the way to the playground even before Quill could see him.

_Oh, Crypto… I'm just doing what I have to do._

It had been months ever since he wore his old Epsilon uniform. Honestly, he thought he looked sexy and gay at the same time. Everywhere was just so tight, like the clothes itself were eating his skin. Tightly clinging on every part of his body, especially down under.

Some others threw and burnt their uniforms in the fire together with things that brought back gloomy memories of their pasts. Almost everyone disposed of it. Except for a few people like him, Crypto, Io, and Keeve.

It was very unusual for Io to keep it, but no one bothered getting it from him.

Crypto's case was a bit different. She didn't have many clothes to begin with, so that's all she has and a bunch of hand downs from Coach Hitomiko and if lucky, from Maquia and Keeve.

Keeve has a weird, exotic and extrinsic fashion taste. The girl said she has to have those and that it made her body shape look miraculously stunning.

For Metron, well… he just couldn't stand seeing it in the garbage bin. He had to keep at least one and now he was wearing it.

But he knows this would really get everyone's attention around town. Not to mention, Coach Hitomiko will soon get rid of it when she sees one. They were not allowed to wear it. That was the rule everyone had come up with. Now three of them were breaking it.

Crypto, Heat and him.

_I'm still a good guy. I'm a good guy. I'm a good person._

Metron had to think of positive things. He had to take control. If not, he will be devoured alive by the meteorite just like before.

But when he arrived near the seesaw, his senses tingled. Like his entire body could feel whatever was around him. He started seeing clearer. Eyes darting everywhere and his body felt like dashing around the city.

The stone was at its work.

**Swoosh! **

Metron knew better. All thanks to the aliea meteorite that he was wearing, he was quickly able to block it with his foot, without breaking a sweat.

Resting his foot on top of the ball as it landed on the ground, he warned him. "Cut it out Heat. You don't wanna get hurt."

And just like that, Heat hopped down from the Monkey Bars and lightly brushed his shoulders. "Seriously, people don't get it do they?" The boy charged straight to him. Metron waited for their collision, bracing himself for the impact. The blonde guy ferociously bumped his shoulder to his, leaving the other blocking with all his might.

Heat stole the ball and lifted himself up in the air. Together with the ball, Metron was damn sure a hissatsu waza was coming after him. And there was no escape. Unless, he jumps higher than him and counteract it with his Meteor Shower.

But will he be able to do it?

Metron used the seesaw as a stepladder and elevated himself with much force. Adrenaline was surging through his veins. By the time Heat was on his final position before he could kick the ball, he grabbed his arm and pulled him, stepping on his shoulders and lifted himself even further.

"Meteor Shower!"

Huge sized rocks that left him restless on the ground were instantaneously smashing the guy. A whirlwind of dust appeared as an aftermath, blurring both of their visions. Heat coughed and had trouble adjusting his eyesight.

One thing Metron did notice about him was his constant urge to fight back. It was too difficult to reject the ominous feeling. It was engulfing him.

He felt like giving in.

Little by little.

And so he did.

His eyes glowed blood red that that was the first thing Heat saw as the dust began to dissipate. Two demonic marbles of death staring right at him. And at that moment, he was assured that he was in possession of the meteorite.

Then a wicked grin formed in his face.


End file.
